Dean Okamura

A unique Asian American voice

 

I listened to Asian American poets, and to my untrained JA (Japanese American) ear, 

they sounded like many Black and White poets. I wondered if 

this was the point of completing an MFA program. What do I know? 

The poems were skillful, beautiful, and deserving of 

being published in American journals. Maybe the 

process of selection excludes a uniquely Asian 

American voice. Maybe English forces it to be more 

American and less Asian. Who can really say? 

Then, in the most unguarded moments of your reading, 

I heard you laugh. You laughed like my mother. 

You laughed like my grandmother. And I guess 

all our mothers before them. 

These mothers did not laugh to fill rooms. They covered 

mouths with hands — it was not proper to laugh 

in loud foolish ways. Mothers' tender warmth. 

Gentleness becomes them and holds us. 

Then I noticed words were spoken with a nasal touch 

from our physiognomy. Broad noses 

resonate when we speak. 

Perhaps it was my imagination? 

is there a point?

 

the forest 

you saved today 

by choosing recycled paper 

will be your coffin 

the grove 

you preserved today 

by not printing documents 

will be your urn 

the tree 

you let it live 

by buying plastic furniture 

should have been yours 

---- 

is this eco-haiku? 

or just the sound of frogs splashing …